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Police: People Overdosing On Synthetic Meth Made From Wasp Spray

BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. (KDKA) — Police in West Virginia say that people are now turning to wasp spray to give them a “meth-like” high.

State Police told WRGB that wasp spray is being used as an alternative to methamphetamine in Boone County.

Officials believe the spray played a role in three overdoses last week, and officials say the physical impacts of the spray are erratic behavior and extreme swelling and redness of the hands and feet.

“In my opinion, drugs are so bad around here. It’s so available to people, and then all the time trying things new that we wouldn’t even think about,” one resident told WRGB.

Stores in Boone County on Friday sold nearly 30 cans of the wasp spray.

“From what we’re being told, if you use it, you know, you might use it one or twice and be fine, but the third time, when your body hits that allergic reaction, it can kill you,” Seargent Charles Sutphin of the West Virginia State Police said to the station.

The Boone County Police are working with poison control officials and local medical centers to find the best form of treatment for the wasp spray.

“We have great grand babies, and to think what they’re going to grow up in, and what’s going to be available to them, and what people are going to get them to try… It’s really scary,” resident Diane Ferguson said.